dicktracyfandomcom-20200214-history
B.O. Plenty
First Appearance: July 10th, 1945 Bob Oscar Plenty was one of eight children in a very close-knit Ohio family. Not much about his past is known, other than in the thirties, he and his brother Goodin held up a Gas Station, and B.O. eventually came into his own farm, which he had for thirty years. His farm was near the town of "Tinyville" where B.O. was taken to the County jail after being poisoned by Breathless Mahoney. He later escaped. B.O., Breathless and Itchy B.O. Plenty met Breathless Mahoney when she was on the run with her step-father Shaky's money. Eventually, after a week's long tug of war between Breathless and B.O., he assaulted Breathless in a bank vault in the city and took the money. Breathless was found and hospitalized. For a little while, B.O. lived extravagantly with the money he had taken, until the criminal Itchy learned that B.O. was in possession of Shaky's money. B.O. was lured to Itchy's hideout with the help of Breathless' mother Elia. Itchy tortured B.O. by applying fire to his bare feet, demanding to know where the money was. B.O. refused, and was eventually tied to wooden planks and floated down the sewer until he was lodged up in a narrow curve. Itchy eventually found the money and fled. B.O. was not seen for a while. B.O. Gains a Powerful Friend When B.O. was next seen, he was in the employ of wealthy industrialist Diet Smith as a groundskeeper. He had witnessed a man crawl out of Smith's basement window, but didn't say anything, thinking it was Smith. He told the chauffeur of what he saw and showed him the "watch" he dropped. At that same moment, Tracy was in Smith's mansion, questioning him about the murder of his partner. Smith, refusing to cooperate and being the prime suspect was placed under arrest. Tracy found out that B.O. was back in the United States from China (B.O. was on a ship for China after his plank washed out to sea from the sewer). B.O. gave himself up after already being a fugitive. While Dick Tracy examined the Wrist Radio B.O. found, he cooled his heels in the office for a while. Tracy offered B.O. his freedom against old charges if he helped the Police find the person who Smith's partner, B.O. complied. After the whole ordeal with Diet Smith, his son Brilliant and his ex-wife Irma, Diet Smith became friends with B.O. and in addition to providing him counsel on the Breathless charged, gave him a parcel of land he owned called Sunny Dell Acres, so B.O. could raise his vegetables outside the city. B.O. Meets Gravel Gertie B.O.'s neighbor across the way was the mandolin-playing, loud-singing, ugly woman Gravel Gertie. Like B.O., Gertie had been a law-breaker who had been at odds with Dick Tracy, but she had since reformed. Both of them despised each other at first and each thought the other was the ugliest human on Earth. Eventually the two grew closer and Gertie eventually accepted B.O.'s marraige proposal. On the day they were married (which was broadcast nationwide) B.O. was arrested for his pending charges. Breathless, who lay dying in the prison hospital from a terminal illness, begged Dick Tracy to let B.O. go and get his shot at happiness with her last breath. Nine months later, Gertie gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter they named Sparkle. Before she was born, Tracy and others feared what manner of offspring B.O. and Gertie would have, but to their shock and surprise, the little girl was absolutely beautiful. Sometime later, the unfortunate little dog of ruthless gang boss Mrs. Volts appeared at Sunny Dell Acres and was adopted by the Plentys. Mrs. Volts, wanting her dog back, drove to the Plentys house planning to shoot them, but the car crashed into the house and exploded, enveloping the entire house in flames. Fortunately both the Plentys and the dog were away that night. Diet Smith built an exact replica of their house, including the stove ("I could have bought a battleship easier than I bought that stove"). B.O.'s First Child In the wake of Sparkle's popularity, a soda company began marketing a soft drink that bore her name. B.O. sued, because the soda company had not gotten his permission. As part of the settlement, B.O. became an exclusive distributer of the drink and secured a share of the profits. Baby clothes designer Talcum Freely wanted to use Sparkle in his advertising campaign, at the recommendation of the holder of the Talcum account, Tess Trueheart Tracy (who had recently opened her own photo studio). B.O. and Freely didn't see eye to eye as far as Sparkle was concerned. Freely was so frustrated, he nearly quit a few times. Talcum was eventually found murdered and B.O. left town, thinking that he would be considered the prime suspect (when in reality, he was killed by rival clothing designer Sketch Paree). B.O. returned to Sunny Dell Acres when he learned that he had been cleared, bringing a second dog that he befriended during his time living in the wilderness.. B.O. entered Sparkle in a kid's talent show on television when he discovered that she could play the ukulele and had a wonderful singing voice. She immediately hit superstar status. Dick Tracy recommended Vitamin Flintheart as young Sparkle's agent, but was blackmailed by T.V. Wiggles, a gangster who shot B.O. As B.O. lay dying in the hospital under an oxygen tent, Tracy bent down on his knees and prayed for B.O. to recover, which he did. B.O. and his family went on a vaction in the North Woods, where they met up with the also vactioning Tracys. It was during this trip that Tracy was shot by the young singer called Tonsils, resulting in Sparkle and Bonny Tracy going missing for several days. B.O. was not active in the search, opting instead to stay at the hotel to provide comfort for Tess and Gertie. The Plenty Family Grows After the death of Odds Zonn, his daughter Wingy (aka "Little Wings") was adopted by the Plentys. She took their name and she grew up as a sister to Sparkle. Sparkle eventually married the successful cartoonist Vera Alldid, who was also a distant relative. B.O. did not approve of the marriage, but he was won over by the expensive things that Alldid was able to buy for him and Gertie. Sometime prior to 1978, Alldid grew dissatisfied with Sparkle and divorced her. B.O. refused to allow her to come back home to Sunny Dell Acres, as his family had always been strongly opposed to divorce. After Sparkle's new boyfriend Johnny Snow was killed, B.O. changed his mind and invited Sparkle to move back home with his blessing. B.O. and Gertie were present at the marriage of Sparkle and Junior Tracy. B.O.'s Luck That following Christmas, B.O. was drenched with toxic waste by the midnight hauler Oxy Cixot. Sunny Dell Acres was contaminated and B.O. started glowing in the dark, so their house was quarantined and they were forced to move in with the Tracys (much to Dick and Tess' dismay). B.O. and Gertie moved out soon after when B.O. won the $3,000,000 lottery, with which he bought Sunny Dell Acres II. Tracy urged B.O. to put his money in a safe place (B.O. thought he meant bury it in the yard, which he did). B.O. finally decided to invest his money in an amusment park called the Land of Plenty (designed with help from Junior). When B.O. unveiled the park on TV, his brother Goodin Plenty came calling, blackmailing B.O. into letting him become his real estate agent, and convincing him to buy a plot of land that was a toxic waste dump (Goodin kept this from B.O.). The night of the park's opening, the ground split open and started an earthquake, seeping out toxic waste, destroying the Land of Plenty. Threatening his brother with a shotgun, B.O. found out the Cixot's were the crooks who sold B.O. the land. Tracy and the Major Crimes Squad shut them down, and Diet Smith offered B.O. the chance to rebuild the Land of Plenty and take responsiblity for any legal greivences. B.O. gave him his permission, but sadly sad he wouldn't be able to be a part of it. B.O. turned himself into the police the next day for the thing that Goodin held over his head, a gas station armed robbery in 1938. Tracy explained that the statute of limitations had long since elapsed and B.O. was a better person now than he was back then and would be a free man when The Land of Plenty reopened. In 2002, B.O. took a job as a department store Santa and became embroiled in the plot of a gang of theives who would commit robberies while dressed in costumes. They were led by a criminal called Chameleon. B.O. aided Dick Tracy in capturing the gang. In 2004, B.O. inherited a dilapidated farm from his cousin Stink. He later found the murdered body of Stink's wife, Aroma, buried on the property. It was discovered to be part of a plot by neighboring farm owner Grimley Reaper. B.O.'s Second Child In 2011, B.O. and Gravel Gertie had a second child, which they named Attitude Plenty, after the pizza deliveryman who drove the Plentys to the hospital. Unlike when Sparkle was born, this baby boy was hideous according to Sam Catchem, Lizz and Junior. The publicity of Attitude's birth inspired celebrity chef Flakey Biscuits to send her agent Hot Rize to deliver some giant bags of free biscuit flour to the Plentys. Unfortunately there was a mixup and Hot Rize accidentally confused some hidden cocaine bags (from a smuggling operation that she and Flakey were involved with) for flour. This caught the attention of Dick Tracy and Sam when Gravel Gertie baked a batch of biscuits for them that turned out to be laced with cocaine. Gertie and B.O. were not charged. B.O. had taken Attitude to visit his side of family, and was therefore not present when Measles came to Sunny Dell Acres seeking revenge on Gertie. Appearances in Other Media 'Archie's TV Funnies' B.O. Plenty was a character in the "Dick Tracy" segments of the 1971 animated television series "Archie's TV Funnies", produced by Filmation Associates. B.O.'s appearance closely resembled his depiction in the comic strip. He was portrayed as Gravel Gertie's husband, and a friend of Tracy's who occasionally became involved in Tracy's investigations. Notes *B.O. is typically characterized as a proud and often stubborn man, though his wife and daughter are softening influences on him. He is a sentimental man and is known to cry when overcome by emotion. *B.O. and his family are prone to alternating streaks of good luck and misfortune. He has won several lotteries and contests in his life, for prizes including money and vacations. However, these prizes usually led to adventure and peril for the Plentys. *B.O. (and by extension, his family) is a well-known individual within the world of Dick Tracy. His marriage and the birth of his first child were national news stories. He is known for his connection to Dick Tracy and he involvement with various criminals, but is not generally considered to be a criminal himself. Real world analogues may include Bernhard Goetz, Kato Kaelin, Richard Jewel, or Bruce Jenner. *B.O. and Gertie are 2 of the major recurring characters in the "Dick Tracy" comic strip not to appear in the 1990 "Dick Tracy" feature film or any of the related tie-in material. Known Relatives *Gravel Gertie (Wife) *Sparkle Plenty (Daughter) *Attitude Plenty (Son) *Junior Tracy (son-in-law) *Dick Tracy (Brother-in-law) *Tess Tracy (Sister-in-law) *Honey Moon Tracy (adoptive Granddaughter) *Sparkle Plenty Tracy Jr. (AKA Jewel Tracy) (Granddaughter) *Wingy Plenty, aka "Little Wings" (adoptive Daughter) *Goodin Plenty (Twin Brother) *Holden Plenty (Brother) *"Bull of the Woods" Plenty (Uncle) *Mathilda Plenty (Aunt, Deceased) *Kincaid Plenty (Brother) *Morina Plenty Tiffil (Sister, Deceased) *Bowen Tiffil (Brother-in-Law, Deceased) *4 Other Siblings *Morin Plenty (Father) *Crystal (niece) *Vera Alldid (Nephew/former Son-in-Law) *Johnny Plenty (Cousin; Deceased) *Stink Plenty (Cousin, Deceased) *Aroma Plenty (Cousin-in-Law, Deceased) *Little Boy Beard Plenty (Second Cousin) *Perfume Plenty (Niece) *Dade Plenty (Nephew) *B.U. Tiffil (Niece) Category:Reformed Criminal